Patterns in Nature: Sea Stars

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necklace sea star
A necklace sea star nestles among the C-shaped emerald tentacles of anchor coral in the western Pacific Ocean.
red-and-yellow necklace sea star
A red-and-yellow necklace sea star clings to a sea fan in the Maldives.
ochre sea star
An ochre sea star (background) shares a kelp-strewn beach with a bright-red cousin at low tide on Washington's Tongue Point.
sea star with vibrant purple
A sea star with vibrant purple coloring rests on an ocean floor
white dorsal plates of this sea star
The white dorsal plates of this sea star, photographed in the western Pacific Ocean, give it a calico pattern that helps it blend with its rocky surroundings.
blue sea star
A small crab skitters across a brilliantly colored blue sea star in the western Pacific Ocean.
Burnaby Narrows on the Queen Charlotte Islands
Ochre sea stars, like this pair in Burnaby Narrows on the Queen Charlotte Islands in British Columbia, are normally purple but can adapt a wide variety of colors depending on individual habitat.
Solomon Islands
A necklace sea star rests on a reef in the Solomon Islands. Subspecies of this striking sea star are identified by differences in the plates that cover their dorsal side.
Indonesian sea star
The pattern on this Indonesian sea star echoes the batik prints the Southeast Asian archipelago is known for.
Nardoa frianti sea star
A close-up of a Nardoa frianti sea star in Sulawesi, Indonesia, shows this species' highly contoured dorsal side.

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